The 5 Stages of Team Development

We give them the tools they need to set realistic goals and expectations at each stage of team development and transform their teams into high-functioning, independent units. The forming stage of team development is the first step in team bonding. In this initial stage, group members gather and learn more about each other. Though some people might refer to the forming stage as “the honeymoon stage” of team building, it more closely resembles a first date. Teammates meet, discover group member strengths and weaknesses, explore the basics of the project, and form group goals.

• This is the stage where you will see the team taking ownership of their work and truly becoming a cohesive unit.
• A communication plan is an outline of how your team is going to communicate important information to key stakeholders.
• Also, team members begin to clearly see others’ strengths and accept their weaknesses.
• The team needs clarity and connection more than anything else at this stage.
• Check out our e-book, The Art of The One-on-One Meeting, to see a detailed guide on how you can build a culture of trust with regular one-on-ones.

This is where it’s important to level with individual contributors and truly get to know what’s going on. This is a great time to reflect on what makes a high-performing team able to accomplish tasks and move through obstacles. To properly and clearly identify these in group form, we use the 4 stages of team development.

How to make performing run smoothly

At first, people are led by their natural desire to be liked by others and accepted among their peers. To make things more tangible, here’s a quick overview of the behaviors, feelings, group needs, and leadership needs in the Performing Stage. In fact, Tuckman only added the fifth, Adjourning Stage, together with another expert, Mary Ann C. Jensen, in 1977. The newly crafted review paper was titled Stages of Small Group Development, Revisited — and it became what we today refer to as the Tuckman model of team development. Now, these 5 stages are vital to help you anticipate your team effectiveness. Simply put, that’s your ability to be efficient and productive with your work, both as individuals and as a group.

During the Forming stage, much of the team’s energy is focused on defining the team, so task accomplishment may be relatively low. During the Forming stage of team development, https://www.globalcloudteam.com/ team members are usually excited to be part of the team and eager about the work ahead. Members often have high positive expectations for the team experience.

Reasons Why We Need A Systematic Team Development Approach

The team development cycle starts over more often than you might think. It just means that when change happens, team development phases humans need time to adapt. Sounds great in theory, but putting it into practice can feel daunting.

There might be more frequent and more meaningful communication among team members, and an increased willingness to share ideas or ask teammates for help. Team members refocus on established team ground rules and practices, and return their focus to the team’s tasks. Such conflicts can hinder progress and even grind everything to a halt. Thankfully, you can deploy some strategies to ensure your team navigates the stages without issues. For instance, outlining the team’s purpose and mission at the forming stage and retaliating during subsequent stages ensures no one loses sight of the common goal. Most teams get to the adjourning stage at some point but that’s not always the case.

How Can Leaders Initiate Team Development?

In any case, it’s the saddest of all the 5 stages of group development. Surprisingly, leadership coach Alexis Haselberger told me that spending lots of time in this stage is, actually, not an issue. In fact, the Chief Marketing Officer at SplitMetrics.com, Olga Noha, told me that navigating the 5 stages of group development can pose tremendous challenges. But she said that we should try to be open to whatever’s coming our way.

Ultimately, undergoing the five stages of team development sets your team up for success. There will be a higher chance of realizing the project goals within the timelines set at the forming stage. At the adjourning stage, team members will be eager to collaborate again on other projects. Psychologist Bruce Tuckman shared the team development process with the world in 1965. The process consists of five stages that teams progress through from the time a leader assigns a project and creates a team, to the point the team completes the assignment and disbands. Tuckman asserted that each of these phases was necessary in order for a team to learn, grow, and deliver results of the highest quality.

Storming Stage tips

However, this level of performance can be precarious, as the team may become complacent if it’s not constantly challenged. It’s important to maintain high standards and regularly evaluate the team’s progress to ensure it stays on track. Forming typically lasts for a few weeks or months, and it’s important to make sure that team members are given the opportunity to get to know each other during this time. You can do this by organizing team-building activities, setting up regular check-ins, and providing opportunities for feedback. During the Ending Stage, some team members may become less focused on the team’s tasks, and their productivity may drop. Alternatively, some team members may find focusing on the task at hand is an effective response to their sadness or sense of loss.

There are a few things you can do to reduce the intensity and duration of your storms. One way is to touch base with your team regularly through short stand up meetings. In Tuckman’s original 1965 paper, 50% of teams actually jumped directly from stage 1 to stage 3, but for those that did not, the duration and intensity of the “storms” were varied. If your team is all in one place, then a face-to-face kick off meeting is a great way to get things moving. If your team is spread out, you can still have a very successful kick off meeting with video conferencing. And in 1977, he added a fifth stage to cover the breaking apart of a team at the end of a project.

The forming stage

Being resilient, laying aside ego and working together will allow the team to meet the challenges and emerge stronger than when they started. Team learning is often necessary to execute healthy team development and providing your team with the tools they need to thrive is good for them and your organization. These tools may include team development discussions, training, or workshops. Draw a simple four-stage diagram and ask each person to place a dot or sticky note next to the stage they think the team is at. As a leader, your primary objective during the forming stage is to provide clarity to your team. Continually remind them of the vision you’re striving toward, the goals that lie ahead, and why these objectives are significant.

Tuckman’s foundation helps team leaders understand how team dynamics change as a project progresses. By understanding the five stages of group development, you can support your team as they’re getting to know one another to quickly enable collaboration and effective teamwork. When you can identify which development phase your teams are in, it’s much easier to provide exactly the direction they need so they feel more focused and connected. Keep reminding the team to check in with each other regularly in person or via instant chat, but stay out of their way. They will waste time and lose their focus if they have to answer frequent, unscheduled questions about what they’re working on. Encourage team members to develop a schedule filled with large blocks of time that are free from interruptions like meetings or check-ins.

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The meeting environment also plays an important role to model the initial behavior of each individual. Members attempt to become oriented to the tasks as well as to one another. To grow from this stage to the next, each member must relinquish the comfort of non-threatening topics and risk the possibility of conflict.